


Something as Simple

by stephanericher



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 14:30:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8987689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephanericher/pseuds/stephanericher
Summary: Galen/Bodhi in five kisses





	

i.

They arrive in the middle of a rainstorm, because of course the calm periods can never hit base while Bodhi’s scheduled to make a delivery. This storm isn’t particularly nasty, but there’s a lot to unload and someone needs to supervise the droids and check in with managers, and by the time that’s all done Bodhi’s thoroughly soaked and cold and all he really wants is a trip through the fresher and then maybe if he could be transported back to Jedha at high noon that would be great. He’ll settle for the first, though, really, so by the time he’s in the hall leading to the officers’ quarters he’s practically running. He punches in the code to Galen’s room, fingers still numb from outdoors, and he’s already undoing his boots when the door hisses open.

And then Galen’s there, crushing Bodhi in an embrace once his boots are halfway off, and Bodhi wants to tell him to wait because he’s wet and smells like rain and fuel oil and recycled space air, except it feels too nice like this. It’s been weeks since they’ve seen each other and Galen is so warm and dry and clean that any attempts at protest are draining away.

“I missed you,” Galen whispers, right into Bodhi’s ear.

Bodhi breathes in the scent of him, musky and grassy and spicy, tries to push their bodies closer even though they’re already stuck together like mass-produced spaceship parts fresh off the assembly line. Galen’s fingers slide between his, already warming Bodhi’s (and on the whole he’s still half-numb but bursting with something warm inside like a planet core).

“You should clean yourself, yes?” Galen says.

Bodhi steps back. “Yeah, probably.”

Galen’s still holding his hand, and slowly he raises it to his lips, brushes over Bodhi’s knuckles, and for a moment Bodhi’s knees feel quite weak (from something as simple as this). Galen squeezes his hand once more, and then lets go.

“I’ll join you,” Galen says. “Just let me start the caf.”

ii.

They’re doing a final check on the inventory before loading up when the rain decides to triple in intensity, pouring down in layers like frosting on a cake that’s suddenly disintegrated. The platform outside is now invisible behind the blur of the downpour, and there’s no way to know when it’ll clear out. At least they aren’t already flying in it (Bodhi’s already been out in worse storms too many times, and it’s a wonder he hasn’t gotten the ship exploded yet), but that’s a small comfort when they’d already gotten off to a late start.

Bodhi marks off the last of his shipments; there’s not much going back the other way, not more than would fit on one ship. They could have sent someone back a few days earlier and then sent the other on ahead with everything, but it would probably be Bodhi going back first and, well. He’d rather take as much time on Eadu as he can get.

“Give it an hour or two?” says Bodhi.

The other pilot shrugs his shoulders. “Sounds like a plan. Want to grab some food?”

“I’m taking a nap.”

“Suit yourself.”

He’s still tired (the rain isn’t helpful in that regard) and he might as well be well-rested before another long, boring flight back to Jedha if he can. There’s also the infinitesimal chance that Galen will come back before Bodhi leaves, a chance absolutely worth taking (as long as he doesn’t sleep through it). The hallway is empty as he walks down; so is the room, but it’s warm and the sheets are soft, and he’s asleep in an instant.

He wakes up to a warm presence on the bed beside him, a warm hand stroking his hair steady and soothing. He stirs against it, making a sound that’s half-sigh and half-croak.

“Awake, Darling?”

His mouth is unpleasantly dry and his mind is still caught in half-sleep, but Bodhi raises his head to get a bleary look at Galen.

“Schedule change?” Galen asks.

“We’re waiting out the storm.”

Galen hums in assent. Bodhi wants to curl his body in and close his eyes again, and he’s just about to when his comlink buzzes. That would be his summons. He’s still trying to cling to sleep like static on fleece, but the more he thinks the more he’s jolted forward into reality. Bodhi pushes himself up onto his elbows; his hair flops into his face and when he turns Galen’s smiling at him, softness tugging at his lips. Leaving this morning had been bad enough.

“I should go.”

“Fly safely, then.”

Bodhi swings his legs around over the side of the bed, stretching his arms above his head. And Galen’s sitting close enough for Bodhi to drop one arm around his shoulders, pull closer, and press a kiss to the side of Galen’s neck.

He catches Galen’s eye at the door; Galen’s still smiling at him, and Bodhi hasn’t stopped smiling back.

iii.

“What’s on your mind?”

Galen looks up, finger still tracing circles on Bodhi’s palm. The circles under his eyes seem even darker, like he’s been up late thinking again, working himself too hard, guilting himself too much.

“Just thinking…about my daughter. Wondering.”

Bodhi nods. He’s never quite sure what to say, how much Galen wants to tell about her, how much he wants to put aside or how much he wants to let sit in the air between them. There’s still so much Bodhi wants to know about her, what she looks like and why Galen’s so uneasy about her situation when he says he’d left her in the care of a family friend, that he’s not sure if he can as (and things like whether there was another parent or not that are definitely irrelevant and jealous). Galen’s eyes have dropped back to Bodhi’s palm, as if he’s some sort of cheap mystic who can read all the answers inside it.

“Galen,” Bodhi says, and he looks up again. “She’s out there. I know it.”

She’s got to be, because it would crush Galen if she’s not (even as he’s trying to steel himself to know that) and too much has happened for the universe to break him now. Even if there’s no Force to balance, even if there’s no reason for any of this, she’s got to be.

“How are you so sure?” Galen asks.

It’s mostly rhetorical, but there’s hope in his eyes, backlighting them like a ship’s control panel in the dead of night, and that’s why.

“I just…believe,” he says.

He’s not sure if that’s relevant, if it means anything to Galen when he’s never met Jyn before, when he has no idea what it’s like to have a child and love them in this fierce, particular way. But he knows if Galen’s daughter is anything like him she’s made of strong stuff; she’s strong enough to survive and make her way back to him in some way. But when Galen smiles, tired but strong, Bodhi knows it means enough.

He leans over to kiss Galen’s forehead, and Galen’s smile flickers a little brighter.

iv.

They both work the same way, quiet and methodical; Bodhi goes through inventory and schedules while Galen checks drawings and holos of the project. The only sound in the room is the vent, its quiet hum enough of a baseline to distract from the otherwise total silence. It’s not enough to distract from the items on the list, stolen Kyber and heavy-duty explosives that definitely aren’t meant for just-in-case, and the schedule projected to include even more frequent trips.

If it’s not him doing this, it’ll be someone else; that’s still not a comforting thought.

“How’s the work going?”

Galen’s frowning at his own datapad, numbers and figures for who-knows-what staring back.

“Going,” Bodhi says.

That’s not a lie; he’s still adding and checking and making preparations. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to throw it all down, break the datapad in half, and destroy the files. Galen’s hand comes to rest on Bodhi’s shoulder; he leans over to press a soft, dry kiss to Bodhi’s cheek.

“I know,” he says.

It’s enough to make it just a bit easier, but not to stop Bodhi’s fleeting wish for a moment far away from here with both of them and none of this.

v.

Galen presses the recording into Bodhi’s hand, cool metal sticking to his flesh like ice straight from the freezer. Bodhi swallows; this is really it. Galen is trusting him with this, the last tenuous link to his daughter, the only way to make his betrayal not be in vain (and trusting him to make it far enough without being silenced by either side).

He's got minutes, if that, until he has to leave and put in his part, deliver that last shipment and sever anything that could lead him back to Galen. There’s no chance they’ll see each other again, at least no chance worth thinking about, but he’s thinking about it all the same, the what-ifs and maybes and the improbable odds that they’d found each other in the first place. Galen reaches up with his other hand to touch Bodhi’s face, fingertips soft on the side of Bodhi’s cheek, the gesture comforting in its familiarity and exactly the opposite at once.

Bodhi tilts his head upward, slowly, as if by dragging out the moment he can slow down time. But Galen’s lips aren’t that far away from his, and once they meet Bodhi’s mind finally shuts out the millions of thoughts and anxieties swarming at him, about this and about the future and about everything. It’s just his mouth and Galen’s mouth, the taste of caf and traces of standard-issue toothpaste, everything aligned perfectly. But this, too, is quicker than Bodhi wants it to be. He needs to breathe; he steps back and everything crashes back down on top of him.

He can’t delay the flight any longer; his comlink is buzzing again and he can’t arouse suspicion now. He looks at Galen, framed by incandescent light that shines through the edges of his hair and catches against his fingernails and the longer this goes on the harder it gets. But this isn’t supposed to be easy, especially in a situation like this where there’s no easy choice.

Galen’s eyes are steady; his hand is still close enough for Bodhi to feel its warmth. In his head he’s halfway to launching himself back into Galen’s arms; in reality his fingers twitch. If he says or does anything now, he’s going to cry. So he turns, fixes his gaze on the hall ahead, and wills himself not to run right back.

**Author's Note:**

> your feedback is always appreciated (particularly re:dialogue) & thanks for reading!
> 
> you can hmu on [twit](http://twitter.com/lemaireality) so we can talk about this ship....or send me your prompts for these two on [tumbl](http://stephanericherthanyou.tumblr.com)


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